Latest Cowboys injury could force Jerry Jones to finally make an obvious move

The Dallas Cowboys have had a rough offseason in terms of contract negotiations and unfortunate team departures. The Cowboys’ woes continue with the contract holdout of key players. Finally, it has gotten worse going into preseason as injuries are now beginning to pile up with the latest being at the defensive line.

This past Sunday, Cowboys third-year edge rusher Sam Williams tore his ACL after getting carted off the field during training camp practice.

This is a significant loss for the Cowboys not only in the defensive line and pass rush, but also in hopes of building for the future that the Cowboys needed. While Dallas will be without a critical player in the past rush, they have no time to dwell on their loss as they need to find a replacement quickly just a few weeks before the start of preseason and the 2024 NFL season. Many analysts and Cowboys fans believe the move for another defensive lineman, especially at the end, was a position that needed to be taken care of anyway. 

Latest Cowboys injury could force Jerry Jones to finally make an obvious move

The loss of Sam Williams opened more holes it already had

It has been a tough offseason for Cowboys owner and president Jerry Jones, who he believes his team is going “all-in” for a Super Bowl run this season. On the other hand, the moves made during the off-season haven’t given validation due to the lack of depth and talent in their key positions. 

One of those key positions is at the defensive end as they don’t have a reliable pass rusher outside of Parsons, a 32-year-old defensive end in DeMarcus Lawrence and now an injured Williams. All three of these players as well as Dorance Armstrong have accumulated 30 total sacks this past season. Armstrong is now with the Washington Commanders. 

Williams needed time to develop within his first two years in the league. Despite the lack of starts, Williams provided depth and support in the depth. In his two years, Williams accumulated 48 total tackles, 30 solo tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hits, 8.5 sacks and one safety. He was a solid backup to Lawrence while learning under the veteran. 

The Cowboys’ defense takes a big hit even with another addition

This move will require Jones to go out and find more replacements at edge rusher. This is an area he should have been evaluating well into the start of free agency. The outside linebacker/defensive end is a position group that is overlooked going into preseason. Jones’ attention was focused more on extension talks for quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and star edge rusher Micah Parsons.

Among the names that will be in the hunt for a roster spot that hasn’t been signed yet are Carl Lawson, Yannick Ngakoue and Charles Harris. Lawson needs confidence re-installed after his least productive season last year with the New York Jets. Ngakoue had a mildly disappointing season in his one season with the Chicago Bears. Finally, Harris is set to become a journeyman edge rusher as his career isn’t living up to the hype of being a former first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. 

There aren’t huge expectations for the new and coming edge rusher as the role will be solely depth. Williams would have been able to use his third year to learn more under Lawrence as a veteran and to potentially take over the defensive end position for Dallas in the future. Now, those plans have changed as a new backup will solely as a backup. Their impact on the team will depend on certain packages and give Lawrence time to rest on the sideline. 

Dallas’ defense could easily regress as they are losing players. They can add a veteran defensive end just in time for the preseason, so all is not lost. This injury, however, is a serious blow to a team trying to build for the future while looking to win now before the Super Bowl window completely closes.